Envelope machine



Jan. 25, 1938. A; NOVlCK ENVELOPE MACHINE] Filed NOV. 29, 1932 //v VENTOA Abra/7am Nov/ck. *w

ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 25, 1938 UNITED [STATES ENVELOPE MACHINE Abraham Novick, Flushing, N. Y.,. assignor to F. L. Smithe Machine Co. Inc., New York, N. Y.,

a corporation of New York Application November 29, 1932, Serial No. 644,795

5 Claims.

vide, in combination, means for separating envelope blanks from a stack and individualizing them, means for performing a necessary operation upon the individualized blanks, and means for thereafter rearranging them directly in fanned out relation for the continuation of the process of making them into finished envelopes.

In accordance with one embodiment the operation performed on the individualized blanks may be the printing of the lining faces of the blanks.

Such printing is employed, for example, to make -the envelope opaque, to ornament the lining, or to provide a business form. The printing may in some instances consist of the application -of a composition to render window portions of the blanks transparent. The invention may also'be practiced by printing upon the outer faces of the envelope blanks.

It has been the practice heretofore to print the lining faces of the blanks on the machine which cuts the blanks from a paper web or upon a separate machine after the blanks have been cut and before they have been delivered to the envelope making machine. The present invention -simplifies and reduces the cost of manufacture of envelopes of the kind referred to by combining lining printing mechanism with the other instru- 4o mentalities of an envelope making machine.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention the operation performed on the individualized blanks may be the cutting of window openings and the application of window patches v thereto. It is an important feature of this emtion,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary, sectional, side elevabodiment that provision is made for rearranging In the drawing forming part of this specification, largely diagrammatic, of an envelope machine embodying features of the invention; and e Figure 2 is a plan view of the lining side o fv a blank having a patch applied to it by the mechanism of Figure 1.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. l, the blanks are initially arranged in the form of a stack in a magazine 5|. The blanks are taken singly from the bottom of the stack by separator mechanism. This separator mechanism is desirably the same as that illustrated in my pending application Serial No. 628,302, filed August 11, 1932, for Envelope machines,and is, therefore, only partially illustrated herein. Briefly, the separator mechanism comprises a pneumatic picker device 52 which starts the lower edge of a blank away from the. stack, a wedge or dagger device 53 which presses the separated margin away from the stack and toward a vari- 20 able speed roller 54, and auxiliary feed rollers which are oscillated upon the periphery of the 1 speed roller 54 to cause the lower margin of the blank to be gripped and to be fed forward by the feed roller 54 at the appropriate time in the cycle. The feed rollers 54 and 55 and a feed roller 56 that cooperates with the roller 54 act to advance the blank between a feed roller 51 and a feed segment 58 which form a feeding couple. The feeding cou-, ple 51, 58 is located at the introductory end of a conveyor 59 and desirably operates at the same peripheral speed as the conveyor 59. The conveyor 59 comprises a pair of parallel chains which carry pusher pins 60. The pusher pins 60 engage in notches 6| of the envelope blank formed at the junction of the sealing flap with the end flaps (see Fig. 2), and act to advance the individualized blank in accurately timed and aligned relation. Friction brushes Hand 63 act upon the blanks to exert a retarding influence and thereby assure proper engagement of the blanks with the pusher pins. Each individualized blank is carried past a cutter 64 and a cooperating bed cylinder 65 which rotate at a peripheral speed equal to the, speed of the conveyor 59. The cutter is effective to cut a window opening in the blank but not to remove the chip formed by such cutting. The blank is next carried by the conveyor 59 past a chip removing mechanism which c'omprises a tucker blade 66 and a gripper jaw 61, the jaw being carried by a cylinder 68.

The blank is next advanced by the conveyor 59 past a gumming mechanism 69. This mechanism comprises a gum pct 10, a pickup roller H, successive transfer rollers 12 and 13, a gummin'g segspeed than the conveyor chain 9|.

granted to me, October 13, 1931.

ment 14 and a bed roller 15 for cooperating with the gumming segment. The gumming segment applies gum to the marginal portions of the blank which border upon the window opening I6.

The blank is finally delivered by the conveyor 59 to a patch applying mechanism 11. This mechanismmay be the same as that illustrated in Letters Patent of the United States #1,827,539, Briefly, the mechanism comprises a shaft 18 which can'ies a roll I9 of patch material. The patch web is drawn intermittently from the roll 19 around a guide roller 88 by means of an intermittently operated feeding couple 8|, 82. The leading end of the patch web is fed across a stationary cutter member 83 and a patch length is severed from it by a cooperating cutter blade 84 which is carried by a reciprocating arm 85. A patch transferrer 86 carries a gripper 81 which grips the severed patch 88 and delivers itto a suction patch applying roller 89. The patch applying roller 89 cooperates with a roller 98 to continue the advance of the blank at the same speed at which it was advanced by the conveyor 59. The feeding couple formed by the members 89 and 98.

delivers the blank onto a table along which a conveyor chain 9| is operated. The conveyor chain 9| runs at a little slower speed than the .draw it forward. This conveyor and gripper mechanism, and the mechanism at the delivery end of the conveyor for rearranging the blanks in fanned-out relation may be like that disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States #1,656,289,

granted to me on January 17, 1928, for Envelope transfer mechanism. The conveyor chain 9| runs upon sprockets 93 and 94. A pair of retarding wheels 96 are mounted co-axially with the sprocket 94 but are driven at amuch slower The retarding wheels advance a single tooth space for each blank delivered whereas the conveyor chain 9| travels the distance from one: gripper to the next between-the delivery of successive blanks. The

teeth of the retarding wheel 98 are disposed toengage in the leading edge 91 of the blank, near its ends. leased by engagement with a hub 98 which is mounted co-axial with the sprocket 94. Each gripper is so formed that it may cam underneath a blank which is restrained by the retarding wheel, lift such restrained blank and pass under it while holding it clear of the blank on the conveyor 9| which the gripper itself is advancing. After the delivery of a blank the continued rotation of the retarding wheel 96 acts to carry the following tooth into position to lift the leading edge of the blank and press it against conveyor belts 99. Conveyor belts 99 run on pulleys I88, I8I and I82 and are driven at the same Each gripper 92 is caused to be respeed as the outer extremities of the teeth of the retarding wheels 96. The conveyor belts 99 cooperate with a broad, smooth conveyor belt I83 to carry the fanned-out blanks past a gum ap plying member I84 for gumming the sealing flaps. From the fan-out gummer the blanks are delivered to a drying conveyor I85. From the drier I85 the blanks pass toother instrumentalities cesslvely from a stack, individualizing the separated blanks, cutting window openings in the individualized blanks, applying window patches to the individualized blanks, feeding the blanks directly into fanned-out relation and gumming the sealing flaps of the fanned-out blanks.

2. The method of making window envelopes which comprises individualizing envelope blanks, applying window patches successively to the upper faces of the individualized blanks, feeding each blank beneath its predecessor so that only its upper trailing margin is exposed, and gumming the upper trailing margins of the blanks.

3. 'In.an envelope making machine, in combi-- nation, means for taking blanks from a stack and individualizing them, means for applying a window patch to the upper face of each individual-.

ized blank, means for directly rearranging the individualized blanks in fanned-out relation, comprising a retarder and means for carrying each blank beneath its predecessor, and means for gumming the upper trailing margins of the fanned-out blanks.

4. In an envelope making machine, the combination of means for removing blanks from a stack, means for delivering them face down to a conveyor, means co-operating with the conveyor to individualize the blanks while face down, instrumentalities for successively operating on each blank while face down, means for re-arranging the blanks in fanned-out relation while maintaining them face down, and means for thereafter operating upon the fanned-out blanks.

5. In an envelope making machine, in combination, means for taking blanks from a stack and individualizing them, means for applying a window patch to each individualized blank, means for advancing the blanks at relatively high speed to and beyond the patch applying means, means for thereafter advancing the blanks at a relatively low speed for gumming, means for facilitating the direct transfer of the blanks from the fast to the slow blank advancing means, whereby the blanks are directly rearranged from individualized relation into fanned-out relation, and means for gumming the sealing flaps of the fanned-out blanks.

' ABRAHAM NOVICK. 

